The Last Animus
by themoonlightdragon
Summary: Axolotl, daughter of Kinkajou and Turtle, is hiding a secret: she's inherited her father's animus powers. When her friends find out, will they forgive her? And can she save Pyrrhia from an evil firescales out to steal Axolotl's animus powers? DISCONTINUED.
1. Prologue

**Prologue**

* * *

Kinkajou was sitting with her friend Tamarin when she felt a jolt. "My egg!" She screamed. Suddenly she knew; her egg was hatching! She couldn't miss it! Kinkajou flapped off without telling Tamarin goodbye. She swooped down upon her hatchery, a tall, elegant building that had a gradient from pink to white to blue. Mightyclaws had designed it just for her and Turtle, since Queen Glory had decreed that RainWings and NightWings would keep track of their eggs now.

Kinkajou supported this decision 100 percent. She knew that Glory had been stolen from her hatchery as an egg. It reminded her of when she'd been abducted by bad guys for weeks and no one noticed or cared that she was gone. _Like Coconut,_ she thought, a stab of pain going through her heart. _He didn't even miss me._ She shoved aside that thought. _Glory_ had cared about Kinkajou even though she didn't know her at the time. That was why she liked Glory so much- Glory cared when a dragonet went missing even though no one cared when she went missing.

 _Well, I would have cared._ Kinkajou thought fiercely. _If I had known._ Kinkajou brushed aside her thoughts about missing dragonets. Right now this was about her dragonet, who was most certainly not missing. She burst through the door and looked at the egg.

It was still whole, un-cracked and unblemished.

She shrugged and trotted over to the egg anyway, just to look at it. The egg was smooth and round and looked notably like a jellyfish, half-pink with a squiggly line of white and then a bit of blue. She had been coming every some days to check on it.

Kinkajou reached out to the egg and laid her talons on the egg. It was glossy and cool. She looked down at her scales and noticed that they were bright yellow, her favorite color and the one that represented happiness. She saw raspberry-colored purple-red splotches as well, which represented excitement. She remembered the color combination of yellow and raspberry from her first day at Jade Mountain, where she had tried to turn her scales less vivid colors, like olive green and powder blue. She had hoped to make a good impression, but her plan was squashed when she realized she was too excited to force her scales into a different color.

Jade Mountain was where she had met her best friends. Moon, who used to be so sweet and shy, but came out of her shell eventually, and who seemed _so happy_ to have Kinkajou as her friends. Qibli, who had that piercing gaze, as if he was analyzing her, but was so funny and sweet. He and Moon were on an exploring expedition at the moment, and Kinkajou missed them more than anything. Then there was Winter, who had those dazzling scales and moody personality, but had that soft spot for scavengers.

And Turtle. She had met him at Jade Mountain, too. He was so laid-back and relaxed, but so funny and sweetly embarrassedand _ADORABLE._ And he liked her for her, whereas the others thought of her as sweet and innocent and carelessly optimistic. Plus when she got knocked out by that _creepy_ NightWing Turtle used his magic to save her!

The egg cracked underneath her talons.

Kinkajou shrieked as she came back to reality, feeling the cold, glossy scales under her now pale green talons and immediately lifted them. Her scales turned bright violet in delight as she looked down at the tiny dragonet.

The dragonet had shiny pale pink scales and icy blue eyes. Her talons were the same pale blue. She held out her talons and the dragonet climbed into them. "Hello, baby," she whispered. The dragonet looked up at her with wide eyes. _I'm a mother!_ Kinkajou squealed inwardly. She had to go show Turtle his daughter. She placed her dragonet on her shoulders. "Hold on tight," she said sternly, hoping the dragonet could understand her.

Her wings expertly maneuvered though the trees as she flew, slowly this time to keep her dragonet safe. Her daughter rested her tiny head on Kinkajou's back, and Kinkajou felt a thrill run through her. This was what having a dragonet was like.

She flew over to the pavilion, where Turtle had been chatting with Queen Glory and King Deathbringer. "Turtle!" She cried. "Look, our daughter hatched!"

Turtle made a choked noise and flapped over to the tiny dragonet. He started hopping from foot to foot, the scales of his wings flashing excitedly. The dragonet gave him a curious glance, then spread her own wings. Kinkajou noticed that the dragonet had glowing scales like Turtle's. The pink dragonet flashed her wing and snout scales, and Turtle laughed. "She just said, 'Will how see silence orca.'"

Kinkajou laughed, too. "Isn't she the cutest thing?"

Glory and Deathbringer, who had been silent for some time now, both came closer to look at the little dragonet. "Wow," said Glory. "So this is what a SeaWing-RainWing hybrid looks like. I think she looks more RainWing. I know Sunny looks more SandWing than NightWing." Kinkajou smiled, but Turtle scowled. He couldn't keep a straight face, though, and started to smile.

"Yes," said Deathbringer, scratching his chin. "I think Drizzleclaws looks more like me, but Firefly definitely has Glory's eyes." He twined his tail around hers.

"You big sap," she said, wrinkling her snout at him. But she didn't pull her tail out of his grasp. Kinkajou smiled down at her daughter, who was watching the RainWing and NightWing couple with a curious expression. Kinkajou pulled the pink dragonet closer to her chest.

"We're definitely sending her to Jade Mountain," Kinkajou said.

"If they can stay there," Glory snorted, smiling sarcastically. "I seem to remember the both of you going off on a dangerous expedition without permission while you were at school."

Turtle made a reproachful noise, then stopped and considered for a moment. "Let's name her Axolotl," he said.

"That's perfect," Kinkajou said.


	2. PART 1 Chapter 1

**PART ONE**

 **SECRETS OF JADE MOUNTAIN**

 **Chapter One**

 **Axolotl**

* * *

Axolotl landed swiftly on the ground. Behind her, a bigger, darker pink dragon landed with a _thump!_ The bigger dragon held out a piece of paper, which Axolotl gently took from him. "This is your map," said the dark pink dragon dragon said. "You'll be in Starflight's winglet, which is in the library to avoid any navigating he would have to master otherwise. Oh, and Tsunami apologizes that you couldn't be placed in your winglet, but Auklet's daughter signed up first."

Axolotl nodded. Cramming everything into one sentence was kind of a RainWing habit. And she didn't mind being placed in Starflight's group. Her Aunt Tsunami was big and bold and loud. From what Glory had said about Starflight, he was more calm and quiet, which Axolotl prefered to all of that cringe-worthy noise that came with being Tsunami's neice.

Jambu waved a goodbye, and flapped off into the sky, leaving her to find the library on her own. Lucky for her, a large, friendly-looking NightWing was waiting for her. "Hi, I'm Fatespeaker." said the NightWing. "You must be Axolotl."

Axolotl nodded, and Fatespeaker continued, "Queen Glory told me you'd be late. The winglet meeting has already started." She must have noticed the worried look on Axolotl's face because she added, "Don't worry, you haven't missed much. The library is right down the hall."

"Thank you," said Axolotl, walking down the hall Fatespeaker pointed to. Scrolls on the cave walls had different little sayings, like _peace is the best way_ and _knowledge is a flame in the darkness_ and _the darkness of dragons is no match for the light that will always come shining through._ That one looked newer than the rest. Axolotl reached the end of the hallway, where there was an opening into a large room.

"Wow," said Axolotl, looking up. The library was covered in scrolls. Axolotl couldn't read yet-she was only three- but maybe she could learn during her time here. The cave had lots of leaves across the holes in the walls. The sun shone through, making beautiful windows. It reminded her of the village.

She almost failed to notice the nine dragons sitting there staring at her.

"Hi guys," she whispered shyly.

The largest of the dragons, a NightWing with a bandage over his eyes, smiled at her. "Hello. Are you Axolotl? We were just beginning our meeting. Sit down, sit down!" He patted the spot to the left of him. "Now, Moonshadow, why don't you introduce yourself?"

The dragonet to Starflight's right, who was clinging to Starflight's wing, said, "Hi, I'm Moonshadow, and I want to be a librarian when I grow up, just like Daddy!" Axolotl realized that he must be Starflight's son. Axolotl noticed he had silver scales by his eyes, just like Fatespeaker.

"Thank you, Moonshadow," said Starflight.

The dragonet next to Moonshadow was a SkyWing. "Hi, I'm Ruby," she said.

"Like the queen?" Enquired an aquamarine SeaWing.

"Yes," said Ruby. "I was named after her. Queen Ruby is the best queen in generations, and my parents wanted to honor her. Plus, I have ruby-colored scales." She held up one of her deep red wings.

The SeaWing went next. "I'm Mallard," she said, waving a talon at the others. "I really like to swim. Are there any underwater ponds here?"

Starflight nodded and Axolotl added, "I like to swim, too. Maybe we could go as a class activity?"

The SandWing next to Mallard shuddered. "Swimming's not really my thing. I'm Scorpion, by the way. I'm kind of not a _water_ dragon I'm more of a _heat_ dragon, you know what I mean? With all due respect, Mallard," he added.

"Yeah, with _all due respect,_ " Repeated the IceWing next to him, "Heat stinks. But don't feel bad, it's not personal or anything, water stinks too," she added. "Give me an icy, snowy place anyday. I'm Blizzard, just so you guys know." Blizzard's words weren't exactly polite, but she seemed to like the dragons around her. Maybe a friendly rivaly sort of thing?

"Hey, stop arguing!" Said the deep purple dragon next to Blizzard. "We're all friends, remember? I'm Firefly. I'm one of the hybrids in this group. You're the other one, right?" She asked, looking at Axolotl. Axolotl, startled, nodded at Firefly. "And I love school so much! Even more now that my clawmate has come. Uncle Jambu told you about the clawmates, right?" Axolotl nodded again, realizing that Firefly must be her clawmate, as well as the daughter of Queen Glory and King Deathbringer.

"I'm Bullfrog," said the MudWing. "The prey center is really awesome. I like to hunt a lot. I'm pretty good at cows, but chickens are my specialty. Oh, and goats." Bullfrog smiled shyly at the others, as if he wanted to ask if anyone needed help hunting but was afraid to ask.

The RainWing sitting in between Bullfrog and Axolotl smiled. "I'm Spidermonkey," he said with a grin. "I love school, too! Especially the art cave. The prey center is cool, too. Did I mention the art cave?" Starflight nodded, smiling.

Axolotl looked down at her talons and fiddled with her moonstone necklace. _What should I say? What if they find out my secret? What if they want me to USE it to prove it?_ "I'm Axolotl. My dad is Prince Turtle of the SeaWings, and my mom is Kinkajou of the RainWings. This is my first time seeing a SkyWing and a SandWing and a MudWing and an IceWing."

Starflight smiled encouragingly. "Now what would you guys like to do?" He asked.

"We could go swimming," Mallard suggested.

"We could go outside and relax," said Scorpion.

"We could go hunting?" Bullfrog said softly.

Starflight's smile got wider. "I know! Why don't we go outside, like Scorpion suggested. I know of a nearby lake that Axolotl and Mallard would like. And we can all go hunting- there are some great animals by the pond. We can explore how each tribe cooks their food and sample the different ways. IceWings and SeaWings prefer their meat raw. NightWings, SandWings, SkyWings and MudWings like their meat cooked. RainWings prefer just fruit."

Everyone nodded, even Blizzard, who was trying to look like she hated the idea but was having trouble.

Axolotl smiled. Maybe she would find new friends here.


	3. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

 **Axolotl**

* * *

 _Axolotl heard voices, so she crept out of her room and discovered that they were coming from the study. She peered through the keyhole and gasped, quickly cutting it off before the dragons inside could hear her._

 _Her parents... and the queens._

 _"This dragonet shouldn't have been born," Queen Snowfall declared. "Kill her now, while she's sleeping."_

 _"Hey now!" Said Kinkajou. "She's just a dragonet! We don't even know if she has the powers. Besides, she doesn't know that her father's an animus. Why would she even try an animus spell, when we've told the whole world that animus dragons have died off."_

 _"Exactly." Queen Snowfall growled. "Jerboa II is on another continent, Anemone promised never to have dragonets, and Stonemover has had all of his dragonets, and Sunny doesn't have the animus powers. But this dragonet could destroy the continent... or be gone in an instant. No one would have to know, and the world would be safe from the effects of animus magic."_

 _"You should have killed that dragonet in her egg." Said Queen Ruby sadly. "You can't very well kill her now."_

 _Snowfall hissed discontentedly._

 _It took Axolotl a minute to realize that they were talking about her. Wait, then... that meant Dad was an animus. A thrill ran through her. She could be an animus dragon! But if she was an animus dragon... would everyone hate her?_

 _Suddenly there was a voice. "I knnnnow who you arrrree."_

 _Axolotl flinched as she looked away from the door. Suddenly she was back in her room, Firefly snoozing in the hammock next to her. She looked around for the source of the voice but there was no figure._

 _"I knnnnnow about yyyyourr powerrrsss," said the voice._

 _Axolotl jerked away, feeling heat radiating from their scales. "You don't know anything about me," she said fiercely, hoping it was true._

 _"YYYYou'rrrre an annnnimusssss," the voice said bluntly._

 _"No! No I'm not!" Said Axolotl. "Get away from me!"_

 _"You will do what I sayyy," said the voice. "Or I will tell everyyyyone.t Axolotl flinched. The voice was slow and long, with a distinctly familiar hiss to it. "Get that into yyyour tiny annimusss brain. I willl sssee you againnn tommorrrrrow. Donnn't forget... if yyyou donn't sssssleep, yyyour ssssssecret will be rrrrrrevealllled."_

 _And the voice was gone._

"Wake up, wake up, wake up!" Axolotl jolted awake. "Morning, Axolotl!" Firefly was chirping. "We have class this morning. Reading with Starflight. Can you read? Hey, you don't look so good. Are you okay?"

"I think so," Axolotl panted.

"Nightmare?" Firefly asked sympathetically.

"Yeah, that," said Axolotl.

"We have history," said Firefly. "It's about the most boring class ever, but STILL! It can be kinda fun. C'mon! C'mon!"

"All right," said Axolotl, rubbing her eyes and following after Firefly, who had stepped into the hall. Maybe history would be a distraction from her dream. Maybe it was just a nightmare, but it felt distinctly like a dreamvisitor visit. She went through her mental list of dreamvisitors- one was here, in the school, one was currently in Ruby's care, and one had been stolen from Moonwatcher after she had taken it from Darkstalker.

Axolotl had to gallop awkwardly to keep up with Firefly. She looked around for any suspicious characters, but she only saw a SandWing awkwardly lumbering in the other direction, and a NightWing who was picking at her claws.

She didn't want to do what this dragon said... but if she didn't, her secret would be known by all of the dragons of Jade Mountain.


	4. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

 **Bullfrog**

* * *

Bullfrog looked around the room, trying to tune out Webs' droning voice. He shot a glance at Axolotl and saw that she was looking down at her talons as if she was frightened of them. She looked up and caught him glancing at her. He quickly averted his eyes, pretending he was looking at one of the scrolls on the walls.

He knew staring was rude, but he couldn't help it. Axolotl was the most gorgeous dragon he had ever seen. Her jellyfish-pink scales seemed to pulse with a kind of life and she had a long, elegant body. Her eyes and claws were the color of a clear river. Most mud dragonets preferred the muddy parts of the Diamond Spray Delta, but Bullfrog had seen the clear, flowing parts, where his namesake croaked deep melodies.

Bullfrog had never seen any dragons besides SeaWings and SkyWings before he got to Jade Mountain. And there was that one dragon in the village who was a MudWing-SkyWing hybrid. He remembered seeing the dragonet scowling at the stares he recieved, the stares that made Bullfrog feel guilty for staring at that lonely dragonet.

He liked the contrast of Jade Mountain, but he missed his sibs back home. He had three sibs, and though he was the youngest, he always felt at home with them. There was Quail, his bigwings (she was protecive of Bullfrog in a soothing way), and playful Tadpole, and agile Dragonfly. He loved the feeling of being with Dragonfly, who loved flying with him and always praised his hunting skills.

 _"Wow, you're an amazing hunter."_ Bullfrog was startled by the sudden thought, a line which had come from Axolotl rather than Dragonfly. It was two days ago at the pond, when Axolotl had been surprised by his swiftness in catching a nearby cow. The whole group had eaten some cow, minus Spidermonkey and Firefly. Even Blizzard had acknowledged, "You did an OK job, MudWing," with a sly little smirk.

He missed his siblings more than anything, but he started to realize that his winglet was a bit like a group of MudWings and sibs. Blizzard and Scorpion reminded him of Quail. Firefly, Mallard, and Spidermonkey were a lot like Tadpole. And Moonshadow and Axolotl both seemed to have Dragonfly's quiet, smooth personality.

He was so lost in thought that he almost didn't notice everyone filing out of the classroom. "Come on, it's time for lunch," said his clawmate, Moonshadow, nudging Bullfrog with his snout. Moonshadow was shy and quiet, with little silver teardrop scales by his eyes. Bullfrog knew that the silver teardrop scales represented mind reading, but Moonshadow had said that he didn't have them. "My mom, Fatespeaker, was supposed to hatch under a moon, but she hatched early," he said. "So she got the teardrop scales, and so did I because I look like her." Normally word alone wouldn't convince Bullfrog, but there was something trusting about Moonshadow.

"Okay," said Bullfrog, heaving himself off of the ground. He and Moonshadow walked to the prey center together- it was becoming a routine of theirs. Bullfrog liked to think that Moonshadow wanted to be friends with him, but he suspected it was because Moonshadow wanted to avoid any nearby bullies.

Suddenly Moonshadow stopped. His eyes glazed over, and he spoke in a low, ominous tone.

" _Beware the dragonet seething with spite; Darkness will rise to bring the light_

 _Spells add up to a fearful sum;_ _Wings of peace can overcome_

 _T'was decided this power would end; but can you truly betray a friend?_

 _Beware one hatched of dangerous power._

 _Though fighting back, she has a thirst_

 _To use her talons to make one cower._

 _She must decide: blessed or cursed?"_

Moonshadow crumpled to the ground. Bullfrog yelped in surprise, resentment, and curiosity. "What was that all about?" He demanded. "You can see the future? Can you read minds, too?" He flared his wings in alarm.

"Stop, stop!" Moaned Moonshadow. "I can't read minds, I promise. I didn't even know I could do this until now. Pictures, they filled up my mind. Dragonets were running and screaming everywhere! Everyone- everyone was hurt, in danger, I have to help them!" He groaned in distress, and for the first time Bullfrog felt pity for Moonshadow.

"Look, it's okay, it's okay," said Bullfrog. "It won't happen, as long as we... what was it?"

"Betray a friend," Moonshadow said nervously, collecting himself. "And we can't do that, can we?"

"Yeah, but it also said, what, darkness rises to bring the light? Wasn't that a part of the dragonet prophecy, too?" Bullfrog said. "It's just some dragonet with- wait, what? Does this mean what I think it means?"

Moonshadow turned to look at Bullfrog with a look of true horror on his face.

"There's an animus at Jade Mountain."

* * *

 **Hey, guys! Thanks a lot for reading this and favoriting it. Bullfrog was really fun to write. What do you think will happen? What is the prophecy referring to?**

 **fantasytwin0930**


	5. PART TWO Chapter 4

**PART TWO**

 **THE WINGS OF PEACE PROPHECY**

 **Chapter 4**

 **Axolotl**

* * *

 _"What do you want?" Axolotl asked fearfully._

 _The voice hissed around her. "Ennnchannnt ssssomethinnng for mmmeee," it whispered._

 _"W-what do you want?" Axolotl repeated in a choked voice. She had only ever enchanted one thing, and it made her feel all cold and shivery inside. She had taken a solemn vow never to use it again._

 _"Mmake mmme a nnnnneckllllacccccccce," it said, "With the power to turn me into an annnimmmus."_

 _"But what if I don't want to?" Axolotl said. "Animus dragons are dangerous to Pyrrhia."_

 _"'Animus dragons are dangerous to Pyrrhia.'" Mimicked the voice. "If you don't want to, than your secret will be known by all of the dragons on this continent. Bring it to me tomorrow, or else."_

 _And with that, she was wrenched awake._

Axolotl sat up, panting. To her horror, she saw that her winglet was standing in front of her. Firefly, sweet Firefly, looked sympathetic. Spidermonkey looked worried- he was a shade of pale green. Blizzard looked shocked and distrustful, shaking her icy-colored wings in distress and hitting Mallard, who looked dumbfounded. Scorpion and Ruby both looked like they had been strangled. Moonshadow and Bullfrog were glancing at each other. Finally Ruby spoke up. "We heard everything, _animus dragon._ "

Axolotl yelped in distress, then finally just collapsed to the ground. "I'm sorry," she wailed. "I wasn't going to do it."

"Do what?" Said Mallard.

"Make the necklace."

"What ne- OH," said Scorpion. "Axolotl, we only heard what you said. Guys, I think Axolotl's communicating with someone via dreamvisitor."

Everyone made shocked noises.

"It's not me," Axolotl said. "Some weird dragon's been communicating with me. They wanted me to make them a necklace turning them into an animus dragon, or else they would tell everyone about my powers."

"Um-" said Moonshadow, "I kind of had a prophecy."

Axolotl jumped up. Blizzard flicked her tail angrily. "Who else has secret powers? First Axolotl, now Moonshadow! This is a lot to take in in five minutes, you know?"

Moonshadow related the prophecy, and Axolotl tried to find the strength to stand. She failed, and just gave up, sitting on the cold stone floor of her dormitory cave. Could Moonshadow possibly think that this prophecy related to her? "But it doesn't fit together," she choked out.

"The dragonet seething with spite is the one who wants your animus powers," Blizzard hissed. "You are the dragonet hatched of dangerous power.

"But it said darkness will rise to bring the light," said Axolotl.

"But there has to be darkness first," said Spidermonkey nervously. Mallard wrapped a wing around the RainWing dragonet and Spidermonkey looked at him with trust... the very thing Axolotl wanted.

"I've only cast one spell," said Axolotl. "So it couldn't be me- the prophecy says, 'spells add up to a fearful sum.' How can that be me?"

"How do we know that you're telling the truth?" Blizzard challenged.

"I am," Axolotl pleaded.

"You say you are," said Scorpion doubtfully. "But how can we trust you? You didn't tell us about your powers."

"You didn't tell ME," said Firefly, her large purple eyes filled with doubt and broken trust.

"How could I? Everyone would hate me," Axolotl begged. Her heart yearned for the trust she had had with her winglet just a day before. Images flashed through her mind. At the prey center, talking and laughing with her winglet. At the pond, Mallard sharing some fish with her. That was all gone now. One by one, dragonet after dragonet filed out of the room, talons slapping against the cold cave. Bullfrog hesitated at the cave entrance. "We trusted you," he whispered.

He silently ducked his head and walked out, leaving Axolotl to despair alone, in the depths of her whispered wishes and shattered dreams.


	6. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

 **Moonshadow**

* * *

Moonshadow sat on the floor of his cave, looking down at his talons, mumbling the prophecy to himself. This whole experience was terrifying for him. He had never realized that he had prophecy gifts until now. _How is this possible?_ He thought fearfully. But he wasn't afraid of Axolotl; he was afraid that his winglet was wrong. That the one "hatched of dangerous power" was him.

Bullfrog walked into the room, his amber eyes filled with a look of such despair that Moonshadow snapped out of his trance and asked, "Bullfrog, what is it?"

"Axolotl," he whispered, more to himself than to Moonshadow. "She was the one the prophecy stated. I trusted her... and all along she's been scheming against us." Bullfrog looked up again, his eyes still full of anguish. And then it came. The torrent of visions.

 _Axolotl, her tail curled around her, eyes dripping with tears._

 _A firescales dragonet._

 _Blizzard, burning. Scorpion, burning. Spidermonkey, Firefly, burning, burning._

 _One push, and she is saved. One push, and the one dragon who cares is dead._

 _Missing dragonets._

 _Bullfrog, weeping over Axolotl's scorched body._

 _A shattered dreamvisitor._

Moonshadow pulled himself back into reality. All of the sudden, he was filled with a large sadness. He sat there for a few minutes while Bullfrog drew on a scrap of paper. Moonshadow caught a fleeting glimpse of two sorrowful eyes and a long, elegant snout.

Moonshadow sat in sadness for a few more hours. Along the first hour, Bullfrog left, mumbling, "Prey center." Moonshadow looked down at his talons. He couldn't help but feel lucky that the others had thought it was Axolotl instead of himself. But he was also weighed down by guilt that the weight of the prophecy had been placed on Axolotl's shoulders when it should have been placed on his own.

A vision crashed upon him.

 _You never knew she was alive... and now it's too late._

 _The most dangerous dragonet in existence. Half NightWing, with mind reading and prophecy powers. Half SkyWing, with firescales. Rejected by both tribes. With animus power... she could ruin Pyrrhia._

 _Life pours out of Bullfrog's body._

He panted, clawing at his head. "I need to get out of here," he mumbled to himself, heading to the library. "Hi, Father!" he called out.

Starflight smiled, hearing his son's voice. "Hello, Shadow," he said affectionately. He leaned over and called, "Firefly, put that away when you're done, okay?" Moonshadow saw Firefly reading a scroll with two other hybrids- one half SeaWing, half NightWing, and one half RainWing, half MudWing.

"Sure," muttered Firefly absentmindedly, not even noticing Moonshadow.

Moonshadow skipped off to find a scroll. _Hybrids of Pyrrhia,_ he read. Taking the scroll off of its rack, he began to read. There was a large section on a dragon called Darkstalker, who was half NightWing and half IceWing. He looked for any passages about Rain/NightWing hybrids, but he couldn't find a thing.

He put the scroll back on the shelf and began looking for ones on animus dragons. He plucked this one out of its rack. _Animus dragons must be careful with their powers or they will turn homicidal,_ it read.

"Wow, thanks a lot! That's so helpful!" Moonshadow cried out. Everyone in the library shifted to look at him, and he felt his cheeks burn. If he were a RainWing, he felt sure he would have turned tomato red.

Firefly hopped up, flew over, grabbed his wing, and pulled him behind a large scroll rack. "What is going on here?!" She whispered.

"I was just looking up scrolls on animus dragons- you know, because of Axolotl- but these scrolls are not helpful. I mean, look at this one! 'Animus dragons must be careful with their powers or they will turn homicidal. The best course of action is to never use your animus magic. Or better yet, never have animus dragons at all.'"

"I guess everybody thought animus dragons were gone for good, so they took out all of the good scrolls." Firefly shrugged, and Moonshadow just gave up. He headed to the prey center to look for Bullfrog, remembering that he had said he was going there.

He didn't find Bullfrog, but he did see Mallard. She looked at him pleasantly, shaking out her aquamarine scales. In this light, they looked more of a green than an aquamarine- green, like a mallard's head.

 _Mallard swimming with Moonshadow, playfully splashing him._

 _Moonshadow, looking down at Mallard's body, the blue-green scales scorched to black._

 _Mallard, older, laughing as she is tackled by three navy dragonets._

Moonshadow shook his head. The visions kept coming. In some they grew to be close friends. In some, he grew to know her, but she didn't like what she found in him. But it most of the futures he saw, he was too afraid to get to know her and then his chances were gone.

He firmly decided then and there that he would get to know Mallard.


	7. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

 **Bullfrog**

* * *

Bullfrog did not go to the prey center.

He hated lying to Moonshadow, but he knew his clawmate wouldn't approve of his real destination: Axolotl's cave.

He peeked into the cave. To his relief, Firefly wasn't there. Axolotl was facing the opposite direction, and Bullfrog couldn't help but notice her tail- the vulnerable spot was bruised, as if she had been bashing it on the rock floor of her cage.

"I don't think you are the one the prophecy talks about," said Bullfrog quietly.

Axolotl turned around, and her eyes were puffy as if she'd been crying. "Bullfrog?" She asked softly. "I thought you were mad at me."

"I was at first," said Bullfrog. "But I trust you, Axolotl. And Moonshadow doesn't think it's you, either."

Axolotl said nothing. She buried her head in her talons. Bullfrog wondered if he had done something wrong until Axolotl spoke. "Thank you," she said, her voice muffled through tears. Bullfrog didn't say what was in his head: _but Moonshadow still doesn't trust you._

He also didn't say the other thing that was in his head: _I love you._

"You don't seem like the spiteful type," he choked out. She twined her tail around his and his brain went ALERT ALERT ALERT and SHE'S TOUCHING ME! and EEEEEEEEEEE! He attempted a sane-looking smile at her.

"I thought," she whispered, "I thought I could never earn your trust if you knew about my powers. There aren't supposed to be any more animus dragons in Pyrrhia." Her silence wandered uncomfortably, and even though Bullfrog couldn't read her mind, he knew what she was thinking. _I wasn't supposed to have been born._ "It was so lonely in the rainforest. No friends- who wants to be friends with a hybrid?"

"I do," said Bullfrog shyly.

"Tell me about what it was like in the Mud Kingdom," said Axolotl.

Bullfrog resisted the urge to smile. "I lived with my sibs, I mean, my siblings. Quail was my bigwings, and she was so loving and sweet. Tadpole was always making the worst jokes, but they made us all laugh even though they were terrible. Dragonfly, she was just like her namesake. She loved flying."

He glanced at Axolotl. She climbed into her hammock, smiling sadly at him.

 _Why does this moment have to END?_ He thought desperately.

He wished he had the courage to say 'I love you'. But he didn't. "We were a team, a pack. And when one of us was teased, the others would stand up for them."

"I wish I had siblings like that," said Axolotl sadly. "The MudWings, they have that loyal sibling bond." Her voice got low and soft, almost as if she was afraid to voice her thoughts. "I don't even belong to a real tribe."

 _You belong to my tribe,_ Bullfrog thought fiercely.

"Yes, you do," said Bullfrog defensively. You just look a little different. Why is that cause to pick on you?" _I think you look better than any old RainWing or SeaWing,_ he thought.

The lanterns on the walls seemed to glow a little brighter.

"How did you know that you were an animus?" Bullfrog asked. "What did you cast?"

"It's actually kinda scary," said Axolotl. "I woke up and heard voices from the study. I peered in through the keyhole, and there they were- the queens!" Bullfrog jumped. "I knew Queen Glory, obviously, and Grandma Coral. But the others, they came as a shock. They were talking about Dad and how he was an animus. I didn't know that. They thought I was an animus, too, and some of them wanted me dead."

Bullfrog felt her tail sort of slip away from his grip, but he held it tighter.

"I knew what I had to do. I slung open the door- Queen Moorhen had a real shock- and I took a vine from the wall. I said, 'I enchant this vine to turn into an opal necklace that protects the wearer from harm of any kind. It can not be lost, stolen, or harmed in any way. It can only be given.'" Bullfrog gasped. "And it turned into an opal necklace."

"It did?" Bullfrog gaped.

"It did," said Axolotl sadly.

"That's a sad story," said a quiet voice. Bullfrog and Axolotl whirled around, Axolotl for the second time in half an hour. It was Moonshadow and Mallard, talon in talon."Axolotl, I know the prophecy wasn't about you."

"Who was it?" Axolotl asked.

"A hybrid dragonet. Half SkyWing, half NightWing. Extremely dangerous. Firescales and the NightWing powers. And guess what, Axolotl? She's the dragon dreamvisiting you."

"Well, how are we supposed to fight off an enemy like that?" Bullfrog asked fearfully.

"I'll get the others," mumbled Mallard, flapping out of the room. A few moments later, Moonshadow had communicated this new development to the others.

"Well, how are we supposed to fight off an enemy like that?" Bullfrog repeated By this time, Blizzard was lashing her tail angrily, Scorpion was clenching his teeth, Ruby looked extremely worried, Firefly looked regretful, and Spidermonkey was a pale green color.

"As a winglet," said Moonshadow. "If we all work together, we can do it. But... Axolotl is in lots of danger. The only way I can see her living is if Blizzard protects her."

Blizzard grunted unhappily.

"And Bullfrog is in a lot of danger too." Bullfrog felt a shiver run down his spine. "Bullfrog, you're too loyal. I can see futures where you jump in front of other dragons to spare their lives and you're dead. Mostly Axolotl."

"But I'm not important," Bullfrog groaned. "You guys have much more chance of saving the world than I do. Besides, what's the point of living in a world without Axolotl in it? She's clearly the hero of this story."

Blizzard snorted. "I can think of a few ways the world would be better without Axolotl in it."

"You may not know it, but a world without you in it is also terrible," Moonshadow argued.

"How do we even know that this dragon is coming?" Firefly asked worriedly. Spidermonkey's scales were approaching dark green.

"I can see it," said Moonshadow simply. "Her name is Blaze, after the SandWing princess. Her mother, a SkyWing named Cardinal, was rogue. She was a Blaze supporter rather than Burn. She was exiled from her tribe and met another dragon exiled from his tribe. Jetclaws was sad and sweet and silly, and they fell in love.

"Their daughter was a firescales and a mind reader and prophecy dragonet. She was dangerous and hated them on sight. They had no choice but try to kill her. They failed. It was then that Blaze realized only an animus dragon could kill her. It was then that she decided she needed to become one, so that she could never die.

"She ran away to the rainforest. Jetclaws had a brother there- Blaze had seen it in his mind. Maybe his brother would know something. The only problem was that Jetclaws had been exiled before his brother had hatched from the egg, and his brother didn't know of Jetclaws' existence.

"Blaze was walking by a window when she saw her father's face. It must have been her uncle. Lucky for her, she heard them talking about an animus! Some wanted her dead. But most were worried about her. An animus! This animus could make Blaze into an animus too.

"The door swung open, and she saw the animus. Half RainWing, half SeaWing. Blaze knew from then on she had to talk to this animus."

Axolotl gasped. "And who was this brother?" She asked. The only NightWing in the room at the time had been...

"King Deathbringer," said Moonshadow.


End file.
